Car bomb kills 2 in restive southern Thailand

PATTANI, Thailand 
A car bomb exploded Friday in restive southern Thailand, killing two soldiers and wounding five other people, an army official said.

Suspected Muslim insurgents detonated the bomb that was hidden inside a parked pick-up truck in Yala province, said Lt. Col. Suwat Thongbai. The explosion destroyed the truck and sent debris flying about 100 yards (meters), he said.

The blast hit a group of six soldiers who were traveling in a car to inspect a gas canister that was left unattended on the roadside nearby, Suwat said.

"The bomb was detonated when the soldiers' car approached," Suwat said. "The insurgents lured the security forces there before triggering the bomb."

Two soldiers in the car were killed and the other four were wounded. A Buddhist woman who was standing nearby was also wounded.

More than 3,600 people, both Buddhist and Muslim, have been killed in Thailand's southernmost provinces since the insurgency flared in January 2004.

The militants target people who they believe have collaborated with the government, including soldiers, police, informants and ordinary civilians. They make no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state in the region.

Last month, at least 36 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in violence in predominantly Buddhist Thailand's only Muslim-dominated region. The most deadly incident was the killing of 10 Muslims at a mosque in Narathiwat on June 8.